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Ghoulies

  • 1984
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 21m
IMDb RATING
4.2/10
11K
YOUR RATING
Ghoulies (1984)
A young man and his girlfriend move into an old mansion home, where he becomes possessed by a desire to control ancient demons.
Play trailer1:52
1 Video
99+ Photos
B-HorrorComedyFantasyHorror

A young man and his girlfriend move into his parents' old mansion, where his satanic father is buried, and immediately becomes possessed by a desire to conjure and control tiny demons.A young man and his girlfriend move into his parents' old mansion, where his satanic father is buried, and immediately becomes possessed by a desire to conjure and control tiny demons.A young man and his girlfriend move into his parents' old mansion, where his satanic father is buried, and immediately becomes possessed by a desire to conjure and control tiny demons.

  • Director
    • Luca Bercovici
  • Writers
    • Luca Bercovici
    • Jefery Levy
  • Stars
    • Peter Liapis
    • Lisa Pelikan
    • Michael Des Barres
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    4.2/10
    11K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Luca Bercovici
    • Writers
      • Luca Bercovici
      • Jefery Levy
    • Stars
      • Peter Liapis
      • Lisa Pelikan
      • Michael Des Barres
    • 107User reviews
    • 93Critic reviews
    • 26Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:52
    Official Trailer

    Photos157

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    + 150
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    Top cast18

    Edit
    Peter Liapis
    Peter Liapis
    • Jonathan Graves
    Lisa Pelikan
    Lisa Pelikan
    • Rebecca
    Michael Des Barres
    Michael Des Barres
    • Malcolm Graves
    Jack Nance
    Jack Nance
    • Wolfgang
    Peter Risch
    • Grizzel
    Tamara De Treaux
    • Greedigut
    Scott Thomson
    Scott Thomson
    • Mike
    Ralph Seymour
    Ralph Seymour
    • Mark (Toad Boy)
    Mariska Hargitay
    Mariska Hargitay
    • Donna
    Keith Joe Dick
    Keith Joe Dick
    • Dick
    David Dayan
    • Eddie
    Victoria Catlin
    Victoria Catlin
    • Anastasia
    Charene Cathleen
    • Robin
    Bobbie Bresee
    Bobbie Bresee
    • Temptress
    Jamie Bronow
    • Jonathan Graves, as a child
    Brian Connolly
    • Ghoulie
    • (voice)
    Annie Stocking
    • Ghoulie
    • (voice)
    Craig Talmy
    • Ghoulie
    • (voice)
    • Director
      • Luca Bercovici
    • Writers
      • Luca Bercovici
      • Jefery Levy
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews107

    4.210.9K
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    Featured reviews

    7BrandtSponseller

    A must-see for fans of campy, cheesy horror

    As an infant, Jonathan Graves is absconded from his father, Malcolm (Michael Des Barres), the leader of a black magic cult, when Malcolm almost sacrifices Jonathan in a ritual. 25 years later, Jonathan (Peter Liapis) learns that his father has passed away and he has inherited his estate, including a large home that is now in disrepair. He moves there with Rebecca (Lisa Pelikan), and soon after begins acting strangely, instinctively following his father's footsteps.

    If you're a fan of campy, cheesy horror films, as I am, Ghoulies is a must see. Everyone else should probably avoid this film. This is a Charles Band production. Charles Band means Empire/Full Moon, and Empire/Full Moon is almost a guarantee of some campiness/cheesiness. Not many of Band's films, however, approach the sublime ridiculousness of Ghoulies. We're almost in Troma territory here, but Ghoulies is played much more seriously than the typical Troma production, and in this case, it works to increase the entertainment value.

    Since Ghoulies was made in 1984, it features most of the mid-80s horror film clichés. Shortly after moving in, Graves throws a party, so we get big hair, tight miniskirts, skinny ties, recreational drug use, and so on. We also get our eventual fodder for our body count, although in this case, it is worth noting that writer/director Luca Bercovici introduces a "twist" near the end that significantly decreases the body count.

    Liapis is the focus of the film, though, and without him, Ghoulies might be more boring than campy. His absurd overacting, often in solo scenes, takes up a majority of screen time. Still, just the brief presence of two demonic minions, Grizzel and Greedigut, would alone make Ghoulies a must see, especially given how everyone continues their attempt to play the film seriously when they appear. And I haven't even mentioned the other ridiculous minions, which are obviously puppets and "dead props" (Band seems to love puppets), and were the beginning of a horror industry attempt to cash in on the success of Gremlins (also seen later in such films as the Critters series and Munchies). We also get zombies, a Star Wars-like battle of wizards, sunglasses as a major plot device, an evil doll, an attack with a 5 foot long tongue, and some probably unintentional homoerotic subtext. Who could pass all of that up? The film gets a 7 out of 10 from me--an 8 out of 10 would have been in order, except for the inexplicable absence of gratuitous nudity.

    Note that while Ghoulies is tagged "comedy/horror", it's very unlikely that it was intended to be a comedy in any way. Even if Band applied the label to the film prior to release, it was probably because even he realized how ludicrous the film turned out. At any rate, it would be misguided to watch it expecting intentional humor.
    3utgard14

    If You've Seen the Movie Poster You've Seen All the Fun Ghoulies Has to Offer

    Jonathan Graves (Peter Liapis) inherits his Satanist father's mansion. He throws a party and starts conjuring up Ghoulies, which are sort of demonic goblin things. This is a garbage Gremlins knock-off with no humor, charm, or entertainment value. The best thing about it is that it has one of the coolest movie posters of the 1980's, with the Ghoulie coming up out of the toilet. It's just not a fun movie at all. It's nasty and cheap. Avoid this mess. See Gremlins instead. Or you can just skip this one and watch the better Ghoulies part 2. But yeah, Gremlins is better than that too. So just watch Gremlins or even Critters over this dreck.
    5markarice

    This is worth watching

    I thought this movie was entertaining. Especially, if you like beautiful girls in sexy heels and tight dresses. It truly captures 80's fashion and hair styles and I love the 80's. The Ghoulies themselves looked incredibly life-like with grossed-out slobber and nasty sharp teeth. However, I thought the battle between good and evil could have been played out over a longer period of time. This monk comes from nowhere and saves the day in a matter of minutes. The evil guy's son was also drawn to the dark-side too quickly. He moves into his new mansion and begins practicing the dark arts in the same evening during the first party. How uncool. He yells at his guests and quits school the very next day. He should have at least heard voices for a few days first.
    6jamesbourke59

    God Bless The 1980's

    Yes indeed the 1980's when I was but a very impressionable teenager, it felt like my every waking hour was spent in my local videostore, and when I was in school, I was always thinking about what movie I was going to watch next.

    As was the case back then, a cool looking cover was always the catalyst for me to hire the movie regardless of whether or not I enjoyed the movie.

    So Ghoulies was to be my introduction to the cinematic world of a certain film producer Charles Band, and his company Empire Pictures. Having just recently revisited the world of Ghoulies, and just about to embark on my fortieth year on this earth, I have hand on heart began to realise that what I liked when I was a teenager, has not remained the case as I've gotten older.

    No matter what the detractors think of Charles Band's riff on Gremlins, the movie does have more plus points than negatives. The overall acting is pretty spot on, Peter Liapis as Jonathan Graves truly devours his part as Jonathan Graves, heir apparent to the supernatural throne left to him by his late demented father Malcolm, Michael Des Barres.

    Des Barres has never been an actor that I've been to keen on, maybe it's his accent that I find somewhat off putting, but then again if you've ever watched him in Diary Of A Sex Addict, the title pretty much summed that movie up, but let us not forget his turn in Nightflyers.

    You know when your a teenager, and you just watch copious amounts of nonsense, you tens to forget what you've watched and just who was in it, back in 85, I had no idea who Jack Nance was, but then I still hadn't watched Eraserhead, but Nance participation was a bit of a shock to me, I did find myself doing a double take when I spotted him hiding behind that fake beard, but you never forget that crazy eyed stare.

    But what about the movie itself. Like I've mentioned previously, viewing the movie as an adult, you still sensed the atmosphere, those pesky Ghoulies, still look as cheap and cheerful and not quite scary as ever, but Luca Bercovici does capture some pretty good stuff on camera.

    Of particular mention was the scene when Malcolm rises from his grave, quite striking and very well lit.

    Ghoulies was my first introduction to Charles Band, but it wasn't until I watched Trancers, that my interest in Band's output truly took hold of my teenage years, and throughout the next two decades.

    Ghoulies 2 was a smart little follow up three years later, ignore the next two sequels, as really you can't hold a candle to the original.

    My rating is 6/10
    3paul_m_haakonsen

    Not particularly great...

    This is an mid-1980s horror comedy indeed, except it was lacking both ingredients actually. It is, however, a very typical Charles Band movie, for good and worse. Was "Ghoulies" a memorable movie? No, not by a long shot. It was just too silly and empty to really be entertaining.

    "Ghoulies" is about a young man who inherits an ancestral home. A house where black magic was used to conjure forth demonic creatures. Lured in by the dark magic, the young man unleash the demonic beings once again.

    The characters were lacking personalities and depth, but fitted right into the rest of the movie though. The acting performances were nothing impressive either.

    As for the creatures, well they were probably impressive back in 1984, but by todays standards not so much. It was puppets, blatantly obvious, and again typical for Charles Band. And the special effects, well let's not even go there.

    This movie wasn't particularly entertaining, and I will never watch it again, that much is certain.

    More like this

    Ghoulies II
    4.7
    Ghoulies II
    Ghoulies III
    4.1
    Ghoulies III
    Ghoulies IV
    2.9
    Ghoulies IV
    Ghoulies: From Toilets to Terror - The Making of Ghoulies
    5.6
    Ghoulies: From Toilets to Terror - The Making of Ghoulies
    Critters
    6.1
    Critters
    House II: la deuxième histoire
    5.4
    House II: la deuxième histoire
    Jocks
    3.8
    Jocks
    Troll
    4.6
    Troll
    Dolls : Les Poupées
    6.3
    Dolls : Les Poupées
    Welcome to 18
    5.7
    Welcome to 18
    Critters 2
    5.6
    Critters 2
    C.H.U.D.
    5.6
    C.H.U.D.

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The scream let loose by Donna (Mariska Hargitay) was a stock sound effect. Mariska Hargitay has a naturally deep, husky voice and could not produce a scream loud or high pitched enough for the liking of the director.
    • Goofs
      Grizzel is shown holding the goblet before Jonathan sets it down for them to drink from it.
    • Quotes

      Dick: They call me Dick, but you can call me... Dick.

    • Alternate versions
      Originally opened with an R-rating in Las Vegas, Nevada in November of 1984. Shortly after, 12 seconds of footage were removed from the nationwide American release of Ghoulies in order to achieve a PG-13 rating.
    • Connections
      Edited into Lifesavers: The Movie (2013)
    • Soundtracks
      Dancing With A Monster
      Written and Performed by Fela Johnson

      Subliminal Music 1982

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    FAQ18

    • How long is Ghoulies?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 1985 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Los Ghoulies-Los duendes de Lucifer
    • Filming locations
      • Wattles Mansion - 1824 N. Curson Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Empire Pictures
      • Ghoulies Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $5,500,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 21m(81 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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